1. Field of the Disclosure
The disclosure relates generally to an apparatus and method for control of fluid flow between subterranean formations and a production string in a wellbore.
2. Description of the Related Art
To form a wellbore or borehole in a formation, a drilling assembly (also referred to as the “bottom hole assembly” or the “BHA”) carrying a drill bit at its bottom end is conveyed downhole. The wellbore may be used to store fluids in the formation or obtain fluids from the formation, such as hydrocarbons. In some cases the wellbore is completed by placing a casing along the wellbore length and perforating the casing adjacent each production zone (hydrocarbon bearing zone) to extract fluids (such as oil and gas) from the associated a production zone. In other cases, the wellbore may be open hole, i.e. no casing. One or more inflow control devices are placed in the wellbore to control the flow of fluids into the wellbore. These flow control devices and production zones are generally separated by packers. Fluid from each production zone entering the wellbore is drawn into a tubular that runs to the surface.
Horizontal wellbores often are completed with several inflow control devices placed spaced apart along the length of the horizontal section. Formation fluid often contains a layer of oil, a layer of water below the oil and a layer of gas above the oil. The horizontal wellbore is typically placed above the water layer. The boundary layers of oil, water and gas may not be even along the entire length of the horizontal well. Also, certain properties of the formation, such as porosity and permeability, may not be the same along the length of the well. Therefore, oil between the formation and the wellbore may not flow evenly through the various inflow control devices. For production wellbores, it is desirable to have a relatively even flow of the oil into the wellbore and also to inhibit the flow of water and gas through the inflow control devices. Passive inflow control devices are commonly used to control flow into the wellbore. Such inflow control devices are set at the surface for a specific flow rate and then installed in the production string, which is then conveyed and installed in the wellbore. Such pre-set passive flow control devices are not configured for downhole adjustments to alter a flow rate. To change the flow rate through such passive inflow control devices, the production string is pulled out to adjust or replace the flow control devices. Such methods are very expensive and time consuming.